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Where do trimmed fine green beans from Kenya meet up with high definition TV's from Japan? And how can their design be related in any way? Well the Europeans consider them both to be consumer products who creation from raw material to your home has required energy, waste, greenhouse gases to be created and shipped to your home. This impact is clearly measured in Europe as a 'carbon footprint' and everyone and thing creates one, now they part of a global industrial ecosystem being created.
As increasing numbers of environmentally conscious European customers who must meet their local waste and recycling goals begin to note the significant contribution—2% of landfill is from direct mail and "junk mail", for example—companies wishing to maintain their good relationship and brand need to look at these issues critically. The Royal Mail UK offers a certified carbon neutral direct mailing program; their green logo can only be used on marketing material that meet their criteria on elements such as quality of paper, its provenance (virgin or preused), specific processes and inks that do not adversely affect the ultimate recylability and reuse (certain inks contain metals, or paper treatments like waxing). When the postal service is setting down guidelines on the creativity and production of direct mailers so that their customers can better recycle them, it signals that graphic design needs to evolve the way its practiced entirely.
As more of us figure out what exactly our product's 'footprint' really is, we see more design being used to address issues of sustainability. A closer look to the entire 'Supply Chain' of your product will quick reveals that 70-90% of a product eco-footprint can be key at the design stage. Using the product's 'footprint' as a focus from the design stage, allows for every point of the supply chain to follow in contributing to the design idea. "Forward thinking companies are not waiting for regulations to become compliant, instead they have begun proactive efforts to redesign the way they do business, not only to minimize their eco footprint but also as competitive strategy, as increasing environmental awareness shapes the purchasing patterns and product decisions consumers make."
"Environmental responsibility is good business," said Mark Hurd, HP chairman and chief executive. "We've reached the tipping point where the price and performance of IT are no longer compromised by being green, but are now enhanced by it."
From a BusinessWeek article dated July 20th, 2007: Winfried Häser, an environmental strategist with Germany's postal service, Deutsche Post, [...] regularly meets with the professional financial investors of international banks like Credit Agricole and HSBC to tell them about all the things his Bonn-based, internationally active logistics organization is doing for the environment. Once they've heard Häser's presentation, the investors usually fire back with questions about Deutsche Post's progress on reducing its CO2 emissions and how many of the company's 130,000 vehicles are already running on biofuels. The financial world suddenly has a burning interest in the answers to these and other questions about preserving the environment. Companies in all sectors of the economy are suddenly examining their businesses to determine how sustainable and environmentally conscious they are in fact doing business. They are not doing this out of pure altruism. Instead, companies find themselves forced to adjust to new realities, including stricter environmental laws and the ever-rising cost of coal, natural gas, oil and electricity. In the process, some are even discovering ways to develop entirely new businesses. Climate protection is becoming an important competitive factor. For this reason, companies are looking for strategies on how to address the issue in the future. |
